Recently, my Sister introduced me to Purple Carrots. She generously gave me a packet and told me that they have loads of anti-oxidants and anti-cancer qualities. I hadn’t heard of purple carrots before and discovered that they cook and taste just like “normal” orange carrots – but make EVERYTHING they cook with completely purple.
My first attempt at cooking with Purple Carrots was a hearty beef stew. The Purple Carrots turned the meat a bizarre shade of purple and tinted my potatoes purple too.
I decided to get myself another packet of Purple Carrots and make a Purple Carrot Soup. I figured that if the vegetable was going to turn everything purple it may as well be the star of the dish and feature in a rich purple soup.
Just as I mentioned with the Beetroot Recipes a few weeks back, when handling Purple Carrots – ALWAYS wear gloves to avoid having your hands stained a deep purple. They do look incredible diced and ready to be cooked in the pot, don’t you think?
Purple Carrots are full of anti-oxidants and dubbed as being the next “superfood” – so you better watch out – you may find these purple vegetables taking over in the health food world in years to come!
I leave the choice of stock up to you. I used a beef stock for my Purple Carrot Soup, so it had a meaty flavor almost tasting like a wintery stew. You could use vegetable stock instead if you’d prefer.
Purple Carrot Soup
500g Packet Purple Carrots
250g Butternut Pumpkin
2 Cups Stock
2 Cups Water
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1. Wearing gloves, peel the purple carrots and chop them up roughly.
2. Remove the seeds and skin from the pumpkin and chop up to approximately the same size as you chopped the purple carrots – they all cook evenly.
3. Place the purple carrots and pumpkin in a large pot and cover with the stock and water.
4. Bring the pot up to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the contents of the pot are soft and easily mashable.
5. Allow the soup to cool and then puree in a blender or food processor to a smooth consistency.
6. Carefully pour your pureed soup back in the pot and heat through before serving.
With Winter on it’s way here in Australia, I’m sure this will be the first of many soup recipes shared in the coming months. I’d love to hear from you – what’s your favorite soup?
